NASCAR announced sweeping changes Tuesday to the lineup of tracks that make up the playoffs as part of its 2018 national series schedules.
Next season, the final regular season race in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series will be contested at iconic Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and the Round of 16 kicks off at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
NASCAR has added a second short track to the playoff slate, as the historic ¾-mile Richmond International Raceway hosts the second playoff race for the first time, and Charlotte Motor Speedway serves as the first cutoff race, with an intriguing twist – and turn. The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series will race on the road course oval at Charlotte, marking the first time the playoffs will see a road-course layout among its 10 races.
With Charlotte moving to the cutoff of the Round of 16, Dover International Speedway now hosts the first race of the Round of 12 – another playoff first.
Celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Great American Race, the Daytona 500 returns to its traditional Presidents Day weekend on Sunday, February 18.
Speedweeks kicks off with an action-packed Sunday, February 11 at Daytona International Speedway, with a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season-opening double-header featuring the Clash and Daytona 500 pole qualifying.
“Fan feedback was a major driver in developing these schedules, and we worked very closely with the industry to set the stage for an exciting 2018 season,” said Steve O’Donnell, NASCAR executive vice president and chief racing development officer. “This season has delivered more dramatic moments to fans, and with the adjustments to the 2018 schedules we’re in a great position to build upon that success.”
Richmond’s spring race returns to Saturday night, and the spring triple-header at Dover moves to the first week in May.
The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series joins NASCAR Goes West, the annual three-race trek to the West Coast, making March 2-4 a triple-header weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
The fall weekend at Las Vegas serves as the final regular season event for the NASCAR XFINITY Series, with a three-race opening round of Richmond, Charlotte and Dover. The fall Bristol race will finalize the playoff field for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, with Round of 8 races at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, Las Vegas and Talladega.
All races will air on either the FOX or NBC family of networks, MRN, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
2018 MONSTER ENERGY NASCAR CUP SERIES SCHEDULE
Date Site
2/11 Daytona International Speedway (Clash / Daytona 500 Qualifying)
2/15 Daytona International Speedway (Duel)
2/18 Daytona 500
2/25 Atlanta Motor Speedway
3/4 Las Vegas Motor Speedway
3/11 Phoenix International Raceway
3/18 Auto Club Speedway
3/25 Martinsville Speedway
4/8 Texas Motor Speedway
4/15 Bristol Motor Speedway
4/21 Richmond International Raceway
4/29 Talladega Superspeedway
5/6 Dover International Speedway
5/12 Kansas Speedway
5/19 Charlotte Motor Speedway (Monster Energy All-Star Race)
5/27 Charlotte Motor Speedway
6/3 Pocono Raceway
6/10 Michigan International Speedway
6/24 Sonoma Raceway
7/1 Chicagoland Speedway
7/7 Daytona International Speedway
7/14 Kentucky Speedway
7/22 New Hampshire Motor Speedway
7/29 Pocono Raceway
8/5 Watkins Glen International
8/12 Michigan International Speedway
8/18 Bristol Motor Speedway
9/2 Darlington Raceway
9/9 Indianapolis Motor Speedway
9/16 Las Vegas Motor Speedway
9/22 Richmond International Raceway
9/30 Charlotte Motor Speedway
10/7 Dover International Speedway
10/14 Talladega Superspeedway
10/21 Kansas Speedway
10/28 Martinsville Speedway
11/4 Texas Motor Speedway
11/11 Phoenix International Raceway
11/18 Homestead-Miami Speedway
SCHEDULE SUBJECT TO CHANGE
2018 NASCAR XFINITY SERIES SCHEDULE
Date Site
2/17 Daytona International Speedway
2/24 Atlanta Motor Speedway
3/3 Las Vegas Motor Speedway
3/10 Phoenix International Raceway
3/17 Auto Club Speedway
4/7 Texas Motor Speedway
4/14 Bristol Motor Speedway
4/20 Richmond International Raceway
4/28 Talladega Superspeedway
5/5 Dover International Speedway
5/26 Charlotte Motor Speedway
6/2 Pocono Raceway
6/9 Michigan International Speedway
6/17 Iowa Speedway
6/30 Chicagoland Speedway
7/6 Daytona International Speedway
7/13 Kentucky Speedway
7/21 New Hampshire Motor Speedway
7/28 Iowa Speedway
8/4 Watkins Glen International
8/11 Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course
8/17 Bristol Motor Speedway
8/25 Road America
9/1 Darlington Raceway
9/8 Indianapolis Motor Speedway
9/15 Las Vegas Motor Speedway
9/21 Richmond International Raceway
9/29 Charlotte Motor Speedway
10/6 Dover International Speedway
10/20 Kansas Speedway
11/3 Texas Motor Speedway
11/10 Phoenix International Raceway
11/17 Homestead-Miami Speedway
SCHEDULE SUBJECT TO CHANGE
2018 NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES SCHEDULE
Date Site
2/16 Daytona International Speedway
2/24 Atlanta Motor Speedway
3/2 Las Vegas Motor Speedway
3/24 Martinsville Speedway
5/4 Dover International Speedway
5/11 Kansas Speedway
5/18 Charlotte Motor Speedway
6/8 Texas Motor Speedway
6/16 Iowa Speedway
6/23 Gateway Motorsports Park
6/29 Chicagoland Speedway
7/12 Kentucky Speedway
7/18 Eldora Speedway
7/28 Pocono Raceway
8/11 Michigan International Speedway
8/15 Bristol Motor Speedway
8/26 Canadian Tire Motorsport Park
9/14 Las Vegas Motor Speedway
10/13 Talladega Superspeedway
10/27 Martinsville Speedway
11/2 Texas Motor Speedway
11/9 Phoenix International Raceway
11/16 Homestead-Miami Speedway
Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.
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